History

The Aldmeri Dominion was formed when word came down that human supporters
of Molag Bal had taken control of Imperial City in Cyrodiil. Queen Ayrenn,
the High Elf ruler, built the Aldmeri Dominion with theWood Elves, who live in the Valenwood just northeast of
the Summerset Isles, and the Khajiit, whom she aided
during the recent Knahaten Flu outbreak that devastated the Khajiit
homeland of Elsweyr.

Queen Ayrenn claims that she has no hatred for the races of Man, but that
she would rather put an infant High Elf on the Ruby Throne than see some
idiot human bring further disaster to Tamriel. She espouses the belief
that rulership is the ancient and divine right of the High Elves and their
allies, and that the foolish children belonging to the other races should
naturally fall to heel.

Goals

The members of the Aldmeri Dominion feel that the short-lived,
quarrelsome and easily-corruptible humans are unfit to rule Tamriel. They
do have a point there - the Imperials who run things in Cyrodiil have
fallen under the sway of the evil Daedric prince Molag Bal, and the
members of the other two factions have a long history of being at each
others' throats.

High Elves (Altmer)

History & Lore

src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/251452">The Altmer, also
known as the High Elves, are tall, slender and golden-skinned elves, with
long, pointed ears and almond-shaped eyes. They hail from the Summerset
Isles, off the southwest coast of Tamriel's mainland. Unlike the other elf
races, the Altmer seek to keep their race physically similar to their
ancestors, the Aldmer, by way of highly selective marriage and breeding.
They are the oldest race of Tamriel, the first to settle and the first
true culture to inhabit the new lands.

As a long-lived race, the Altmer have a particular respect for ancient
history - or, at least, for their own. They don't much care for the works
of the other, "lesser" races, and the Summerset Isles are all but closed
to any non-Altmer. High Elves believe themselves to be the direct
descendents of the Aedra, the divine beings that created the realm of Nirn
and everything in it. They also have a deep respect for, and inherent
talent with, magic - study of magic is one of the cornerstones of High Elf
culture, and they have mastered it like no other race of mer or man. They
believe in a sort of manifest destiny, and see themselves as the natural
rulers in dominion of all of Tamriel.

Their ancient religious beliefs serve as the base for most other
religions throughout Tamriel, much as their ancient Mythic-Era dominance
continues to influence the language, architecture, politics and cultures
of the other peoples of the land.

Characteristics

In all Elder Scrolls games, High Elves are taller than the other races.
They usually have golden-hued skin and typically pale hair, with long,
pointed ears and almond-shaped, tilted eyes.

In general, they have always had somewhat lower physical attribute
scores, and increased mental attribute scores, giving them a natural
proficiency with magic but weaker physical combat abilities. Additionally,
they usually benefit from specific bonuses to magic - increased Magicka
points - coupled with a reduced resistance to damaging magical effects.

Wood Elves (Bosmer)

History & Lore

src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/251453">The Bosmer, commonly
known as Wood Elves, are small-framed, limber-limbed nature-lovers hailing
from the province of Valenwood, the southwest corner of Tamriel. They're
not a bunch of hippy-dippy tree-huggers, though - the Green Pact, a
religious oath sworn between the Wood Elves and the forest god Y'ffre,
dictates that Bosmer may not kill, injure or eat any vegetation. This
makes them strict carnivores. They make their famous bows out of treated
bone and sinews, they ferment milk to make booze, they smoke caterpillars
and grubs instead of tobacco, and they cut no timber for construction.
Interestingly, the Green Pact also dictates that a fallen enemy must be
eaten within three days. Because of this, many Bosmer arrange periods of
fasting and feasting around great battles.

The Bosmer reject lavish lifestyles and civilized formalities, living
amongst nature in the great jungle forests of Valenwood. Their major
cities are located in giant, migratory trees deep within the forests. They
tattoo and paint their faces and bodies as a means of camouflage, and male
Wood Elves often grow beards. The other races view them as half-wild
barbarians or degenerate thieves, but their society is deceptively
complex. It was the Bosmer king Eplear who began the First Era by founding
the Camoran Dynasty, which continues to influence Valenwood nearly 700
years into the Second Era. Their union with the High Elves and Khajiit to
form the Aldmeri Dominion has resulted in arguably the most stable faction
vying for control of Cyrodiil.

Characteristics

Wood Elves are usually shorter and slimmer than the other races, with
long, pointed ears and tilted, almond-shaped eyes. Male Bosmer in TES III:
Morrowind and TES V: Skyrim can wear beards, which is unusual for elves.

Their small, nimble frames make them well-suited for thievery and archery
- they have always had bonuses to certain thievery-related skills, and a
significant bonus to the use of the bow. Starting with Morrowind, Bosmer
also have the Beast Tongue ability, enabling them to befriend the
beasts of the wild, recruiting them as temporary allies. Wood Elves are
somewhat more physically frail than other races, and not as strong, making
them less suited for front-line melee combat roles.

Khajiit

History & Lore

src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/251454">The Khajiit are the
feline humanoids from Elsweyr, a southern province of Tamriel. There are
17 different sub-species of Khajiit, the breed determined by the phases of
the two moons during the Khajiit's birth. The Ohmes breed are rather
elf-like, shorter than Bosmer, and paint their faces in cat-like patterns.
The Cathay and Cathay-raht breeds have cat-like, often patterned fur
covering their bodies, long tails and feline faces and eyes. The Suthay
and Suthay-raht breeds are similar to the Cathay breeds, buthave long,
thin cat-like feet and walk on their toes. There are also quadruped breeds
of Khajiit, ranging from the Alfiq, which is the size of a housecat, to
the Senche-raht, which is twice the height of an Altmer (when standing on
its hind legs) and is used as a war-mount by the bipedal Khajiit.

Khajiit culture is nomadic matriarchal, run by Clan Mothers in charge of
each clan of tribes. The cities of Elsweyr are semi-permanent and move
along the trade routes and around the river basins. They are also heavily
influenced by the moons of Nirn, Masser and Secunda.

The Khajiit are fond of sweets, particularly Moon Sugar, a narcotic that
is produced in Elsweyr and forms a significant part of the province's
economy. Moon Sugar is refined into the drug Skooma, which is somewhat
more popular among the non-Khajiit users. Khajiit are largely immune to
the narcotic effects of moon sugar, but not to skooma.

The combination of their bestial demeanor, their shifty, nomadic ways and
their predilection for skooma give the Khajiit something of a poor
reputation among the other races. In Morrowind, Khajiit are often kept as
slaves, and they rarely hold positions of any status in most other
provinces.

Characteristics

The appearance of Khajiit has changed from game to game, which has been
explained by the different moon-influenced breeds. The Khajiit of Elder
Scrolls Online will be of the Suthay-raht breed - the long-footed,
toe-walking variety seen in Morrowind.

Despite the appearance changes, Khajiit have always been gifted at
thievery, gaining bonuses to several thievery skills. Since Morrowind,
they have also had the Night Eye ability, giving them enhanced vision at
night.